Ballmer strikes back at Google’s antitrust complaint

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has a few words for Google and its antitrust …

Where there's controversy with Microsoft, there's Steve Ballmer. The Redmond behemoth's CEO just can't help but defend his company when it is accused of any wrongdoing. Many claim that he hurts Microsoft with his absurd rants, but what it comes down to is one thing: the man does his best to keep Microsoft's shareholders happy. So when word spread that Google had filed an antitrust complaint centering on Windows Vista's desktop search engine, it was only a matter of time before Ballmer said something.

Speaking in his native Detroit, Ballmer condemned Google's assertion that Vista's desktop search hinders the ability for users to run alternative search software. "We continue to comply with the consent decree we signed with the U.S. government in recognition to the findings around our position with Windows," he said. "We think all claims to the contrary are baseless."

While Ballmer has become a type of Microsoft caricature, he may be right on this issue—Google seems to be just looking for a way to pick at Microsoft. In order to disable Vista's search, a user must turn it off in the Microsoft Management Console. Would you say that is an impractical way to disable the index? Do you agree with Ballmer that Google's complaints are "baseless?"